Why we built this
We kept starting classics and not finishing them. A copy of Dostoevsky or Austen would sit half read, or we'd queue up an audiobook for a commute and lose the thread the moment our attention drifted, because most apps make you choose: read with your eyes, or listen with your ears, never both. So the books that were supposed to be essential reading just sat there.
Compendium puts the full chapter text on screen while it plays. Follow along, skim back a line you missed, or just close your eyes and listen: a walk, a commute, or a load of laundry turns into real reading time instead of nothing.
The library
The catalog is built around books that have already earned their place: enduring fiction, philosophy, history, mystery, and science fiction, from Jane Austen and Fyodor Dostoevsky to Friedrich Nietzsche, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle. These are the books people mean when they say "I should really read that someday." Compendium is built for someday.
How it works
Every book is narrated in full, in one consistent voice, with a choice of narrator on selected titles, and the complete chapter text stays on screen the entire time you're listening. Your progress is tied to your account rather than your device, so you can start a chapter on your phone and pick it back up on the web without losing your place.
Pricing
The first chapter of every audiobook plays free, with no account required. A free account adds the opening chapters of every book, plus one whole book of your choice from a shelf of five classics. A 7-day free trial unlocks the full library; after that, full access is $4.99 a month (or $49 a year), one flat price for the whole library instead of paying per book, with no ads. Cancel anytime.
Questions
See the FAQ, or contact us directly.